


Hearts' Blood

by rabbitknight



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood Drinking, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Human/Vampire Relationship, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M, Multi, Obsession, Past Character Death, Past Lives, Reincarnation, Vampire Bites, Vampire Turning, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:53:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 8,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27158917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rabbitknight/pseuds/rabbitknight
Relationships: Kanda Yuu/Allen Walker, Kanda Yuu/Lavi, Lavi/Allen Walker
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	1. The Market Meeting

' _This one… l am sure it's him, but his mannerism doesn't match the crime scenes._ ' Eyes drifting from produce to prey, Kanda's fingers tingled with desire for the handle of his sword. Months of searching abandoned buildings and dark corners had turned up little but more blood- more bodies. And this man. ' _So delicate, even with an object... Does he know I'm here?_ ' 

Kanda's browsing hand paused as he watched the vendor shoo a child from the edges of the market, scolding, and his eyes shot to movement he didn't expect. One red ghastly hand, carefully shrouded beneath that dark hem, slipped free to whisk a piece of fruit from sight. 

With an inclination of his head, the distance too great to offer Kanda insight into what was spoken, his prey left the market at a leisurely pace. He made no small talk with anyone, the crowds seeming to part and close around him on instinct, but he and the child were aware.

And both of them saw him 'drop' the apple, saw it go bouncing and rolling across the cobblestones. While the child ran after it, distracted, the dark haired man watched his prey more closely, watched him watch the child chase her treat and then disappear into an alley.

Kanda's mind churned around the evidence so far and he frowned at the facts. Bodies were turning up in town. People were dying, and not on their own. The Church needed to do _something_.

* * *

Allen couldn't help himself this time, not even with the prickle of someone's eyes boring into his back. Watching the young boy get shoved aside drew his attention, as well as the stall owner's, and his hand moved before he could help it. Mottled red flesh emerging from his cloak, he secreted the fruit away back under his dark covering without a sound.

"Best of luck with the market," He murmured, the small talk leaving his lips with a bob of his head, and he made his getaway with his prize smooth and slow. He waited, shoulders tensing, until he had walked far enough away to drop it outright, listening to it tumble across the cobblestones, and his eyes closed briefly.

Was it the look in her eyes or the familiar shock of red hair that made him do it? It sent a painful pang through him regardless of his lack of reasoning and, wondering what his stalker would do, Allen sidestepped a wagon to take his leave into the first alley.

‘ _He won’t be just a stalker forever… I’ll have to do something._ ’ He admitted, and his heart panged again, but for his formidable shadow. He didn't dare look back or hesitate, couldn't take the chance to acknowledge his presence when he was being so watchful, and Allen pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders. ‘ _...at least I will be sure to make it quick._ ’ He bit his lip. ‘ _It’s a pity he’s so good at something so dangerous. I’ll handle the hunter myself, for his sake._ ’


	2. The Intruder

Allen stole into the room soundlessly, dawn offering him the chance to slip free of his obligations and look in on his pursuer. He was stunned to find the dark-haired man asleep, realistically resting his bare minimum for another marathon of haunting his steps, and Allen hesitated at the end of the settee, his eyes scanning the human’s face.

‘ _ He’s asleep… it’s time. _ ’ He told himself, bracing, but his eyes lingered thoughtfully on the faint colour that had risen in the hunter’s cheeks. He was lean and dangerous below that fair face -a predator in his civilized hunt for prey- and Allen couldn’t help but stop to look at him. He was beautiful and frail, despite his training and his skills, and Allen wanted to brush some hair away as it obscured his vision.

‘ _ I have to do this. He can’t continue. _ ’ He said, trying to convince himself and his wavering determination that he was doing the right thing. He wasn’t sick- he wasn’t elderly- and yet... Fingers fidgeting, restless and unwilling to make the first strike, Allen leaned over him until he could hear the slow rhythm of his pulse and inhaled reflexively. He had eaten, eaten enough to keep his fangs to himself, but he couldn’t ignore the sudden rush of shame he felt, and he slipped up as one hand braced against the cushion.

The vampire panicked as, with a sudden gallop to his heartbeat, the hunter shoved himself up on his elbows. Allen panicked, feeling himself lurch forward to grab at him before he caught himself, and his grip on his own cloak faltered, sending the fabric fluttering down around his ankles in his haste. The hunter may not have been completely alert, but he was awake enough to know his training, and his hand lunged for the blade laying at the bedside.

“No, please! Wait!”

* * *

“No, please! Wait!”

Sleep came reluctantly and left much the same, despite killer instinct and well honed intent, and the hunter’s fist clenched around his holy blade as his eyes flew to his unwelcome guest. His only suspect stood in shambles at the end of the settee, hands up around his shoulders with the widest eyes, and Kanda cursed his own carelessness as he shifted his hips to turn over onto his back and face him properly.

“How did you get in?” He interrogated, frown growing as he began to wake up properly. He didn’t doubt that he had locked the doors and windows, and he narrowed his eyes, watch his opponent intently. “You followed me here? How long have you known?” He could see how hard the vampire was thinking, trying to make some answer that was sensible, and his thumb eased the sword collar free of the scabbard in preparation. “And what are you here for?”

“You know,” Kanda blinked at the disgruntled tone in the pale man’s voice, and he hesitated. “In all my years, I’ve never met a human who asks  _ this _ many questions.” Kanda felt as though he’d been struck by the attitude, by the casual coarseness of the dainty man. He went rigid as the vampire threw himself down gracefully, legs crossing over at the ankle as he let his weight fall onto the sofa with him, and suddenly he was staring down at the creature he had been ready to fight. He’d put his head in his lap, for Christ’s sake!

“Acquainted all of ten minutes, and I’m exhausted.” The vampire hummed, stretching his arms over his head and across his thighs without concern. “Now you’ll have to take responsibility and offer me your hospitality.” And he smiled up at him, something brewing in his eyes that Kanda couldn’t place. “Aren’t you going to wish me goodnight? It’d be polite.”

* * *

“Social niceties are polite enough for you to go to your death willingly?” Kanda questioned, scowling as he held his arms up and away from his lapful of vampire. His eyes narrowed, watching Allen blink up at him and get comfortable over his thighs, and the human dispelled the last of their vague dallying with his next statement. “I know you’re responsible for these murders. You are an affront to God, and I’m here to remove you.”

“You’d kill an innocent man for a suspicion?” Allen questioned, staring up at him and resisting the urge to squirm as he scowled at him unyieldingly. Kanda hadn’t drawn that blade, the sheath still concealing it’s wicked edge, but Allen could see the faint glint of honed steel out of the corner of his eye and he was tenser than he dared admit. “What proof do you have? Those murders… the police have it in the papers as the work of animals. How could it have been me?”

“A  _ vampire _ would have no issue causing that level of devastation.” Kanda told him seriously, shoulders slowly settling, but he didn’t relax. “You’re stronger than any beast in the area.”

“‘Vampire’?” Allen laughed, choking out the word, but Kanda cut him off immediately.

“I’m not stupid.” Kanda crossed a fine line and he caught one of Allen’s wrists in his free hand, eyes hard as he locked his stare with the other man. “I know a vampire when I see one. Enough of the games. What are you playing at?” Allen tensed finally, caught in the human’s grip unless he fought to free himself, and his coy smile slipped as they stared at one another.

“I’m not playing at anything,” Allen said, letting his voice get a little softer in the dim light of the room. “And I haven’t done anything. I did not murder those people.” And he was relieved to at least have claim to that. 

“And this?” Kanda was a stone wall, unmoving, and Allen shrugged softly as he shifted, and he found the most comfortable way to splay across his thighs.

“I’m tired, like I said.” He hummed, lips curving upwards, and he let the arm in his grasp relax. “If you’re so suspicious of me, you could kill me here like this, but you wouldn’t watch me for so long without action if you were that deplorable. At least find proof I’m guilty before you force me to atone for my sins.” And he would, he knew, but he couldn’t let things end just like this. He had to keep Lavi in check, exert what flagging control he had left while he could still influence his companion’s heart, and he couldn’t doom the village that way. “But for now, a rest isn’t too much to ask, is it?”

They shared a long silence, a birdsong coming in through the window Allen had slipped open, and Allen began to doubt his last ditch plan to escape the consequences when Kanda’s fingers uncurled and his arm dropped.

“I’ll find the proof I need.” He told him, his voice low as he frowned down at him, then looked away. “Eventually, you’ll slip up. And I’ll be there to see it.” He didn’t say anything as Allen shifted onto his side, making himself comfortable, and the vampire smiled painfully as he rested his cheek there in his lap, listening to the veritable rushing river of a vein in his thigh.

He felt one hand make landing, the weight drawing his attention, and Allen didn’t dare let its weight become obvious to the human he was with. It may have been nothing, a comfortable placement for his relaxing arms as he trepidatiously set the sword on the cushions beside them, but Allen felt the almost-tenderness in the gesture too strongly to suppress.

Tears welled up in his eyes and he blinked them down, frozen there nestled in his lap. “I’ll be sure to greet you politely on that day.”


	3. A Familiar Game

"Go away." Allen's voice was a hush in the quiet room, their withering home devoid of music and mortal sound. He could hardly bear to look at Lavi, his squared shoulders and the hidden tension in how he inspected the nails on one hand. He could scold him again, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. The bodies never stopped. "I don't want you here anymore."

"'Go away'?" Lavi repeated, and Allen's eyes cast downward. " You want me-  _ me _ \- you want me to go away?" He hadn't misheard him, but he was happy to twist the knife and make explicitly clear what his sire wanted from him. He wouldn't listen -he never listened- but he could clarify his words before he decided how to correct him. Lavi chuckled in faux disbelief, temper flaring. "You can't be serious." And his lips curled into a half snarl.

Slinking forward, muscles taut, Lavi goaded the timid vampire readily. "You're going to set me free on this town, knowing everything I've done? You know exactly how I am..." Lavi laughed, seeing his senior fold his hands over each other guiltily, and Lavi nearly gave up his coy taunting right there. Allen was so easy to read, so soft despite his immense power, and Lavi was happy to sink his proverbial teeth into him with a smirk. "And you're going to set me free on all these innocent people."

Allen, even turning his face away as he seemed to recoil from the words, made it too easy to hurt him just right.

"You really are a monster, Allen." Lavi said finally, eyes alive with cruel pleasure as the white haired vampire let out a gasp, choking on the insult.

"I thought I was bad." Lavi told him, feeling the smirk grow as he touched his own unfeeling chest and kept up his theatrics. Allen was crumbling, weak, and Lavi capitalized on that weakness. He had to stifle his own laughter and compose himself. "I misjudged you, I really did. You have  _ no _ pity. You're just going to give me all of these people." Lavi admittedly couldn't help but relish in the thought as Allen almost squirmed in his seat. "You know how hungry I get… you  _ know _ what's going to happen to them."

Lavi could hardly take his eyes off of Allen as he spoke, eyes a little wide as he drank in the sight of him. Those glistening eyes, those sloping shoulders, the demure quiver of his lip- his fault, all of them. Everything Allen was in this moment was Lavi's and only Lavi's, and the redhead loved it.

"I'll go!" He blurted insincerely, and he resisted the urge to sweep the white-haired vampire into his arms. "I'll go… but their blood is on  _ your _ hands, Allen." He shifted his weight, leaning back from his sire as he let the words sink in, and Lavi knew what would come next.

They were no strangers to this dance.

"Wait, I-" Allen broke quickly, wide eyes turning up to stare into Lavi's face, and his garish red hand reached for him before he could help himself. He froze, pulling that mottled hand back into his own chest, but Lavi had already won and both of them knew it as Allen choked back tears.

"That's what I thought." Lavi deadpanned as Allen fell back into line. Lavi leaned down to his level, shoving one hand against the back of the chair to pin Allen into his seat, and he glowered at him- "Don't kid yourself." -until he remembered who he was talking to, bringing that charismatic smile back to his face. "And don't say that again. You know how I get."

When Allen didn't reciprocate, Lavi couldn't maintain his smile. "We both know how I get." He said finally, patience wearing thin, and as Allen sniffled, Lavi drew back to stand at his full height. He watched him for a moment, taking in his tears, until the object of his desire became too disgusting to witness. Lavi jerked his head to the side and muttered: "Get out."


	4. The Apple

“It's just an apple, so eat it already.” Kanda hadn’t realized when he offered to meet Allen after sundown that the vampire would rise and be so hesitant about everything. He was a slow waker apparently, but Allen insisted that he didn’t need to leave, and he had shrugged his cape up around his shoulders as they lit a few candles. “It’s not poison. You saw me cut it.”

“Stupid Kanda, I know what apples are.” Allen murmured, looking a little embarrassed as he glanced at the hunter and his peeling. “I just don’t know how my body will process food…” He turned the slice of apple over in his fingers curiously, as though some trick of the light would reveal the answers to him, and Kanda took his knife into his other hand.

"Enough." He muttered, shifting to lean into the vampire's space and deftly pluck the fruit from his fingers. He didn't hesitate, unlike the other man, and he stayed close as he rested one end of the slice against Allen's bottom lip expectantly. He even tapped it there against the plump flesh, and he raised an eyebrow at him. "Just take a bite. You can spit it out if it bothers you. I'm not going to be offended by something like that." He himself didn't think about it until he was there, intruding into his intimate space as he tried to feed the ancient being, but a glance at Allen's expression steadied him.

* * *

Allen went still as Kanda drew closer, lips parted in surprise at the offered morsel, and his eyes flew to the hunter's face immediately. They stared at one another, Kanda thinking something Allen couldn't decipher as he maintained his insistence, and Allen carefully sunk his teeth into the slice before he took over holding it again.

The scrutiny made him feel as though his cheeks were burning, despite the empty belly that was growing distracting, and Allen held his gaze until he couldn't any longer. He chewed in a hurry, reacquainting his jaw with the motion as the sweet flavour of the fruit filled his mouth, and he hummed and relaxed as he reduced the bite to nearly nothing.

"See? I told you to just eat it. You've liked everything else I've given you." Kanda huffed, and Allen knew from their weeks together that the huff meant nothing. He just laughed before he raised the other half of the slice to his lips in similar fashion. Kanda, despite his sourness, took the bite without question and left Allen's hand empty.

However, it was the soft brush of the vampire's thumb against his bottom lip that made the swordsman pause. He stared at Allen in that way again, like he had never seen him before, and it was his turn to turn his head away and chew hurriedly as Allen smothered a little laugh.


	5. Misplaced Trust

“Are you sure?” Allen croaked, and his fangs felt heavy and cumbersome as he gawked at the dark-haired hunter in abject horror. He expected a blade, anticipated the cut of cold steel, but Kanda looked almost irritated by the question. One gloved hand was already unhooking the chain, and he scoffed at the pale-haired man’s words openly.

“Of course I am.” He said bluntly, spreading the collar wide as he spoke. “I heal faster than anyone in this village. Are you saying you don’t think I can take it?” He didn’t conceal the challenge even slightly, tone direct as he shot him a lok, and he tugged apart the lapels to expose the meat of his shoulder. “Get on with it. Don’t make me start this myself.”

“I’m going to hurt you!” Allen argued, but Kanda was unrelenting.   
“It won’t hurt me that much.”

“I could  _ kill _ you!” Allen blurted, gums aching as their close quarters called to his gnawing hunger.

Kanda shook his head once, staring down at him. “You won’t.”

Swallowing a whimper, Allen didn’t speak, eyes wide as he dared draw a little closer. He wanted to crush in against him, but his hands hung in the air around Kanda’s chest, wrought with anxiety. He could hear his partner’s heartbeat, hear how he kept managing his nerves and his pulse, and it brought out the animal in him that he feared. He could let his eyes roll back, let those predator fangs sink into mortal skin, and he could  _ feed _ . Kanda was resilient, tougher than even the healthy townspeople and weathered by the tests of time, and he could take the burden. He wanted to take the burden, he-

“Allen,” The vampire jerked as Kanda raised his other hand from his side and he touched his own throat, pressing the small knife from his belt there with clinical precision. “I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. You and I both know you won’t kill me. Now  _ bite me _ .” He twisted his wrist, compromising his unmarred skin with the razor edge, and his blood bloomed to the surface, filling the room with his scent. It made Allen surge forward, stunned to see the glint of metal in the least expected place, and the stumble in his calm heartbeat was the final siren’s call.

* * *

Kanda anticipated the lunge, but Allen sank his teeth into him with a ferocious lack of consideration, jaw locking in his tender flesh as his teeth straddled the scratch his knife had made, and he began to suck. 

Still swaying with the force of the vampire’s lunge for his throat, fingers gripping the handle of his sword, Kanda forced himself to stay with the pain. Every deep draught left his knees weak, head rushing, but his healing factor worked quickly to prevent him from blacking out. Allen was ripping the life from his veins as quickly as his body could manage to restore it, and the hunter felt a prickle race up and down his spine.

Kanda gasped, feeling as though his throat and chest were too tight to draw a proper breath into, and his left hand spasmed as he found purchase in the back of Allen’s hair. It ached, a pain akin to breaking bones, and the hunter’s teeth clenched with effort as he swallowed the scream that was building in his throat again and again.

He had to trust Allen.

He held onto his hair for a chance to ground himself but didn’t do as his instincts screamed to, didn’t pull at the vampire or struggle. This would be nothing by morning, like he had told Allen it would be before he had goaded him into biting, and he needed to rely on Allen. Kanda’s confident statements needed to be proven -by fire if need be- for Allen to trust him enough to reveal the truth. Kanda gritted his teeth and clenched his fist tightly in the fine white strands/.

He was doing this for the village and to spare them another loss, though he couldn’t claim to believe Allen was his suspect anymore. He was doing this for Allen. Kanda knew he had been in pain before, and he refused to let this new agony break him. But damn, if it didn’t hurt.

“Allen…” He grunted, voice strained and hoarse as he had to open his eyes and see the world swim. ‘ _ Don’t make me regret this, damn it. _ ’ He couldn’t manage to speak again, hardly keeping his eyes open, and Kanda let his head fall to one side listlessly.

He just had to trust him.   
And then the stinging pull of Allen’s feeding stopped.

* * *

Kanda and Allen both remained silent as the long, languid swallows came to an end, and the hunter’s chest tightness began to fade. His breaths came in shallow, his eyes still firmly shut and his fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of Allen’s neck, as Kanda let his healing factor bring him back from the brink. He tried to keep focused on his senses, where he didn’t feel numb and uncoordinated from Allen’s gnawing hunger, and he flexed his grip on Allen awkwardly, shoulders locked tight.

“Are you done?” Kanda would be ashamed of how raspy his voice was in private, clearing his throat and striving for better. “You stopped.” He frowned at Allen’s silence, finally daring to relinquish his hold on his holy blade in exchange for grasping at the back of his shirt. “Allen?”

A soft sniffle reached his ears, the hunter hesitating, but when he shifted Allen was quick to dig his fingers into his jacket and cling to him.

Kanda went rigid, too aware of the feeling of his fangs stirring in the wounds. It made him nauseous, the flesh already too raw to handle much more abuse, but Allen was too strong to simply be pulled away from. It wasn’t obvious to the dark-haired man what the wetness running from his collarbone was at first, but it didn’t take long to realize that it was tears. Allen was crying as softly as he could muster, arms wrapped around him and those teeth still deeply embedded into his throat.

“What are you crying for?” Kanda questioned, his head beginning to clear as blood slowly began to regenerate and recirculate through his system. “You’re still choking up about my safety? I could have drawn my sword and you would have been gone. I’m not made of paper.” He couldn’t help the harshness seeping into his tone, feeling too familiar, but Allen didn’t argue against it. Allen slowly pulled his mouth away, fangs slipping free after what felt like an eternity, and the vampire opted to press his face into his collar instead.

“It’s-” He struggled for words, voice muffled. “I’m not crying about that!” Allen blurted, sounding watery and overwhelmed. “You could’ve killed me, and that’s the  _ point _ !” He may not have cared in the moment, but with his forehead pushed against the other man’s skin, Allen inadvertently stained his bangs with his blood as he cried. “You let me use you like nothing! I felt your heart slowing down when you called my name! You nearly  _ died _ because I’m a monster!”

“Shut up.” Kanda didn’t mince words and he pulled hard on his partner’s hair to bring him face to face with the shorter man.

Allen was gory, lips and teeth stained with his blood and even a little had smeared along his forehead in his outburst. He looked panicked, as though he had to hide from even Kanda, but kanda gave his hair a jerk to regain his full attention. It was remarkably like shaking a naughty puppy, and Allen nervously met his eyes, lips quivering as he met the human’s stare.

“You’re not a monster, you’re an idiot.” He told him, frowning down at him and not letting up. “I gave you my body until you were full, knowing full well there was no way you could kill me without help.” He used the hand on Allen’s back, reminded briefly that they were still quite close together, to pull the vampire firmly against his chest. “My heart is still beating and you’re still the fool you were when you put your head in my lap. Now shut your mouth if all you’re going to do is talk crap.”

Scowling down at him, Kanda watched as Allen gawked at him in return, something indistinguishable going on behind his eyes. The hunter waited for Allen’s expression to soften before he released the harsh grip he had on his hair and relaxed his hold. Allen was smiling now, his eyes even crinkling at their corners as he stared up at him, and Kanda rolled his eyes as the vampire placed both palms flat against his chest.

“What’s that look for?” He grumbled, watching the vampire dry his eyes and clean his chin.

“I don’t know.” Allen said with a shrug, lips twitching as he resisted a bigger grin. “You’re being nicer to me than anyone has been in decades. It’s almost ironic, coming from a man of God.” He chuckled, fingers toying with the front of Kanda’s uniform, and his eyes flitted downward to the bite on Kanda’s neck. “I don’t deserve you-”

Scoffing as Allen readied himself to make another self-deprecating statement, Kanda grabbed Allen by the chin . It was as quick and efficient as the hunter was, to hold him in place as he dipped his head to kiss him, and Kanda let their mouths linger together. Allen didn’t know what to do with himself, hands frozen in action of trying to help his partner adjust his clothes, and the gasp he inadvertently took was one of shock and reflex.

He was so warm, even here like this after such a ghastly meal, and Kanda didn’t seem to hesitate at the tang of blood Allen knew he wouldn’t be able to miss. He kissed him firmly, hand there to keep him from making some mistake, and Allen let his lashes flutter as he slowly settled in against him again. There was no hurry, no ravenous need in the pit of his belly to make him grip too hard, and Allen gladly matched the movement of his lips, clutching his shirtfront softly.

They stayed like that, bodies fitted against one another. before Kanda pulled back and straightened up. Allen looked dazed, blinking out of a seeming stupor and pupils blown, and Kanda squished his cheeks with his grip before he let him go.

“I  _ said _ , ‘shut your mouth’.” He reiterated in a low calm tone, struggling not to acknowledge Allen’s dreamy new expression or his own warm cheeks. “It doesn’t matter what you think you deserve. It’s done. Now let’s go, since you’re done being a sad sack. We have work to do.”

“‘We’?” Allen clarified cheekily, bouncing his eyebrows as he finally pulled away, hands lingering as long as they could before he let him loose. He wasn’t subtle and he wrapped himself up in his cloak as he failed to smother his smile. “Does this mean I’m an honorary exorcist now? A warrior for God?”

“Well, you’re not a murderer,” Kanda didn’t miss a beat as he righted his disheveled uniform. “so what that means is that it’s back to the beginning.” Dexterity returned to his fingers, made buttoning the rest of his shirt and righting his lapels a simple task, and Kanda tugged the collar up tight around his throat to obscure the damage. “There is another vampire to take care of.”

Allen snorted. “You certainly took care of me, yes.” He was happy to make the flippant comment, his smile seeming to eclipse his former anxiety even as he realized that Kanda was only in more danger. Kanda felt his lips twitch and drew his sword just a little, the blade glinting in the dim light, as Allen burst into a peal of laughter.

“Let’s go.” Kanda grunted, turning his head away pointedly as he secured the weapon and made for the doors.

“Coming!” Allen called after him cheerfully, and he turned to watch the back of his shoulders as he walked away. It made his undead heart heavy in his chest, realizing what had to be done, but he just prayed that he had the strength to make Kanda do it.

Eyes stinging at the thought, he composed himself before he hurried after him and out in the night.


	6. Caught Red-handed

“I  _ said _ ,” Lavi leaned in agonizingly slowly, face tight as he stared unflinchingly into Allen’s eyes. “I saw you this morning.” He was seething beneath his flat tone, eyes burning into his immortal lover as he loomed over him, and he happily did what he could to crowd Allen back against the looking glass.

“You saw nothing.” Allen murmured, voice low and measured as he held his gaze. His hands were balled into fists at his sides, shoulders slanted away from his lover, and the pale haired vampire found himself slowly shifting away from his counterpart. He could hardly sit still, mind racing, and he could bear to be near him even less.

His body jerked as Lavi’s fist pounded into the glass beside him, forcing a gasp from his lips as the glass fractured with a resounding ‘KRAK!’,, and their eye contact broke as Allen disengaged. He could only wonder what he had seen, what he had witnessed, and Allen’s lips burned now as he remembered the kiss goodbye he had stolen.

He refused to allow himself to collapse into tears; not in front of this man.

“Who is he, Allen?” Lavi, unrelenting, lifted his chin slightly and clenched his jaw as he pressed closer. Eyes fixed as Allen averted his gaze, he hissed his next words furiously in his ear. “And  _ don’t _ lie to me again.”

* * *

“Who is he, Allen?” Lavi, unrelenting, lifted his chin slightly and clenched his jaw as he pressed closer. Eyes fixed as Allen averted his gaze, he hissed his next words furiously in his ear. “And  _ don’t _ lie to me again.”

Allen twisted in place, backed against the fractured glass, and he couldn’t resist how his lips curled to reveal his own fangs. Lavi was close and, for the first clear-headed moment, he was too close for Allen’s comfort.

“He” Allen gave up the farce in the face of his partner’s thinly veiled threat and he took a fistful of Lavi’s shirt. “Is none of your concern.” He could feel the fabric giving under his nails, the beginnings of a tear starting to form, and he maintained his grip.

“Oh?” Lavi’s eyebrows shot up in sarcastic amusement at the display, fist clenched until his knuckles turned white, and he gritted his teeth in a feral, cheap imitation of a smile. “So there  _ is _ someone... I see… You’ve gotten tired of me already? You have too many toys to appreciate what you have. I’ll have to-” “No!”

Allen couldn’t catch himself before the refusal slipped free, playing into the monster’s hands, and he saw the wicked grin on the redhead’s face as panic gripped him deep inside. “No, please… spare him.”


	7. Mine

**He doesn’t exist for me, but that’s fine.**

Allen chose me, chose to turn me, and I exist for him. We have plenty of time for him to notice me. I can wait. He hates what we are, but he just doesn’t know how dirty and ugly mortality is after so long alone. I just need to teach him how beautiful he is- I just need to cherish him.

**He won’t look at me, but that’s fine.**

Allen is  mine \- my responsibility to take care of, and I haven’t cherished him enough. He’s coming and going at strange times. He doesn’t feed with me like he used to, even if I’ve already put in so much effort. I have to see what’s caught his attention.  _ I _ should have all his attention. I’m all he needs and he just needs to learn that. Maybe he’s forgotten why I’m here.

**He’s drifting away from me, but that’s fine.**

I’ve been too lenient with him. I finally found out what Allen has been wasting time paying attention to. He insists his human is important - too important \- and he argued with me for the first time in centuries. I’ve gotten so soft that he needed someone else? I exist for him, here to be with him for eternity, and he’s not even listening to me. I just need to show him that I know just what he needs. I can’t let him think being gentle with him means I don’t love him.

**He may not love me, but that’s fine.**

I’ve been stupid. Of course he doesn’t want to leave me. He’s just acting out. He wants to have a firm hand show him what he  _ really _ needs. That human can’t do what I can, can’t be what I can be, and Allen just needs me to teach him how  _ he _ is supposed to be. I can fix everything.

**He may not be mine, but he won’t be his either.**


	8. A Small Mercy

Leveling the end of Kanda's sword with the center of his chest, Allen tried to smile for him but his lips just rebelled. It felt like a grimace, like even his own features knew that this lie was too far, but he couldn't go back now. He took a deep breath, his fingers beginning to shake, and he raised his eyes from the tip of the blade to the even sharper gaze of his lover.

He was doing this for him, he resolved.

He needed to protect him.

Lavi's presence was ink spilled across chapters of Allen's lifetime, a stain that would only spread, and Allen was ruined beyond repair.

But Kanda?

Kanda was clean, like bright sun on fresh snow despite his dark disposition and austere attitude. And Lavi would come for him. He would come for him and hold nothing back, and there would be no victory.

Allen just couldn't bear the thought of Lavi ruining him too, and gripped the blade a little tighter at the frightening thought. 

They both winced as the razor edge bit into Allen's palms, drawing his blood and drawing a ticket of that ghostly blue glow to the cold steel. Kanda's eyes flitted down to the blood, and then back. Allen's nerves wavered as he stared down the length of his blade at him. Allen couldn't look away, drinking him in even as Kanda's normally stony face contorted into one of anguish, and Allen bit the inside of his cheek hard.

"I'll take you from here." Kanda insisted, but Allen refused to let the blade go even despite the pain. "Come with me."

Allen swallowed thickly. It was time, before he broke and let Kanda do as he pleased instead. "I'm not asking you either, Yuu, I'm telling you. Now please just do it. I want you with me at the end."

Gritting his teeth, Kanda was the first to break eye contact and he fixated on his blade with a growing distress, his chest beginning to heave. He looked more tortured than he had even under his fangs, body ramrod straight as he struggled with Allen's request, and the vampire wished he could do anything but this.

Releasing the blade hesitantly, measuring his breathing, Allen held his arms out to the human man and he managed to put on his smile.

"Come here, love. It's alright."

* * *

Sliding his sword home into something had never evoked such a reaction like this before. Kanda, gripping the handle so hard his knuckles strained, could feel a deep wrongness rising in his chest -creeping up the back of his throat- and yet the wet cough he heard was not his own.

Was this how it felt to die of a mortal wound?

Kanda didn't dare look down as the guard of his blade met flesh, the thump of their meeting seeming to rattle up his arms, but Allen touched him and broke his spell. His willowy arms wrapped around him without fanfare, hands shaky as they held onto him. Allen leaned into him, even despite the handle jutting out between them.

"Thank you." He rasped, and his voice alone made Kanda scoff in disgust. With the decision, of course. With himself, maybe. With Allen?

The hunter let one hand release his weapon and embraced him as best he could. Like this, he could finally feel Allen shivering and Kanda gritted his teeth as he bent his head to press his face into the top of Allen's hair.

"Don't thank your murderer." He grunted, frustration slipping into his tight voice. He couldn't believe he was going to play this game, put that distance between them now. "You're a fool to the end, damn it. This can't have been the only way."

"Well… it's too late now." Allen said breathlessly, and this time his fumbling hands were accompanied by his buckling knees. He fell, slipping through Kanda's fingers, and they both let out a reflexive shout as his blade began to come away. Kanda had to make a decision and, with a grimace, the swordsman withdrew the deadly weapon and followed Allen to the floor. Kanda stared into his bloodshot eyes with fury bubbling beneath the surface.

"Of course it's 'too late now', you idiot! You had me run you through with holy steel!" Kanda didn't bother to be sweet or soft with the dying man, and he grabbed the ruined front of his shirt as the other hand planted his sword into the floor beside him. "You're dying as selfishly as possible, and being shady while you do it! 'Thank you'? That's all you have to say?"

"I'm sorry," Allen wheezed, and Kanda's teeth-bared snarl twisted into another grimace as his eyes began to sting. 


	9. I'll Wait For You

Allen's eyes were already closing, fighting to stay open as what little colour he had drained from his face, and Kanda let go of him to press one hand into his eyes to hold back tears. "Yuu… I'm sorry."

"Shut up!" Kanda hissed, watering eyes squeezed shut, and he grimaced as he expected more, but Allen went silent. Kanda's breathing caught, this shoulders taut as he strained his ears for any softer sounds that his lover would make, and his head snapped up to check on the vampire in desperation. He was so pale, translucent like a sheet in the moonlight, and as he watched, Allen's lashes fluttered open and shut with great strain.

Eyes hazy, the pale-haired man managed to force his eyes open and meet his gaze. His pained expression softened, like the sight of the hunter's face was something comforting even now, and Allen's trembling hand lifted to brush one traitorous tear from Kanda's cheek. His lips moved, though blood and not words escaped his lips, and Allen smiled again. Kanda hurried to cup that hand before Allen's strength faded, and his lover's digits were as cold as riverbed stone.

It took him a moment to decipher Allen's bloodied lips, and then-

"Don't apologize now either!" Kanda snarled, though he pressed that icy hand to his cheek a little firmer. "That's the last thing I want to hear from you, idiot!" Kanda could glare at Allen and his heartfelt smile all he wanted, the vampire unphased, and eventually the human's eyebrows bent upwards supplicatingly. "I can't believe you…" He muttered, words completely drained of venom. "Your apology is what you want me to remember?"

Allen's smile sank just a little before understanding and fondness filled his expression, catching on to the human's subtle meaning, and Kanda felt his raised arm going slack as he held that palm in place. His strained lips moved in a new pattern, making his dark eyebrows shoot up under his bangs in shock, and Allen's hand slipped limply from Kanda's cheek as the hunter's mind replayed the phrase.

His dying moments were all Kanda's, their eyes locked as that telltale light in Allen's eyes dissipated. The hunter choked back a sob, strangling the emotion and stomping it down on instinct, and his mouth set in a grim line as he focused instead on Allen's last words.

'I'll wait for you.'


	10. An Eye For An Eye

Kneeling there with Allen's cold body, his cheeks sticky with old tears, Kanda couldn't bear to leave like he had promised him. His sword in the wooden floorboards was all that seemed to hold him up as grief lapped at him in waves, his mind replaying Allen's last words. He would have remained there on the floor with him until dawn had a door not opened somewhere down in the old mansion, and the hunter lifted his head sharply.

There was another presence in the house.

Kanda gritted his teeth at the realization that the other vampire had intruded on Allen's territory so confidently, remotely stunned by his confidence. With one firm pull, anger hardening his expression, Kanda freed the blade from the wood and rose to his feet ominously.

Allen could be laid to proper rest when this version was eradicated from this world. He didn't care how powerful Allen had made this other man out to be. He would not leave this house alive. Stepping back, Kanda raked his eyes over his lover's ashen face one more time before he stepped back to conceal himself in the shadows of the room.

Those footsteps were coming closer, and that meant his prey was walking willingly into his blade. Kanda watched the door from his hiding place with bated breath, sword still bare and begging for its next kill, as the door opened, it felt as if even his heart had stopped in anticipation.

"Allen, I-" The vampire spoke, but Kanda didn't let another word leave those lips, anger racing through his veins as he leapt into action. The hunter slashed blindly, eyes stinging. The sound of that name from that cursed mouth infuriated him beyond expectation, and Kanda gripped the handle hard enough for his joints to ache. He struck out, feeling his blue blade catch in flesh, and the resounding howl of pain sent a surge of vicious pleasure through the hunter.

When he turned, edge twisted toward his enemy with killer intent, Kanda blinked rapidly to send fresh tears to roll down his cheeks. He nearly sneered at his own carelessness, letting his emotions get in the way of his work now. He had slashed out one eye, yes, but that beast was still standing and gnashing his teeth at him.

The redhead sneered and Kanda could see his mind catch up, his eyes moving from Kanda's distinctive uniform to the dark room, and the hunter took a protective step forward. He wouldn't move Allen from his resting place- this whole building would go up in flames, with the bodies inside. It would be a funeral pyre, cleansing all that Allen felt he had done wrong, and this village would just be a painful memory.

It was that protective motion that drew Lavi's eyes to the smaller body on the floor, that pale hair in the moonlight.

"Allen." Lavi whispered. "You..." He looked almost dazed at the sight, eyes far away, before his attention fixed on that ghostly blue glow. "You- Allen- I'll kill you." He bared his fangs, overcome with rage, and Kanda watched every muscle in his body go rigid, the vampire's fingers flexing as though he were already clawing out Kanda's soft throat.

They stared at one another, waiting for the pin to drop, and Kanda clenched his teeth hard enough for his jaw to creak.

* * *

Lavi came into their den with Allen's name on his lips, ready to propose his compromise to set his mind at ease, and the last thing he expected was a trap. He reared back as searing pain exploded across his face and his vision blurred, his wounded eye going dark and leaving him stumbling for new bearings. He staggered, hand rising to shelter the bloody gash, and his remaining eye searched the room for his attacker furiously

He zeroed in on the hunter, the silver star of the Rose Cross marking him unmistakably as a man of the Order, and Lavi grimaced at him. A human in their lair, their rooms and most comfortable chambers?

Lavi's temper flared as the idea of Allen's pet human sullying their home stuck in his mind, and he ground his teeth together furiously. He was already out for blood, relishing in the chance to get this parasite out of their lives, and Lavi gladly turned to square himself with the hunter and his bloodstained blue blade.

It was amusing to see the hunter stepping forward, until it wasn't. The hunter was only stepping forward to block his way to getting to Allen's side, the vampire lying limp on the wood floor.

"Allen."

Lavi struggled to react as his shock left him standing there in confusion, but his mind was too far gone. Allen was on the floor like a discarded cloth, unmoving, and Lavi hadn't put him there. He was ashen, the slight colour that their feeding gave him long gone, and he was completely limp. Allen wasn't looking at him, or responding to him, and the realization of what that meant hit Lavi like a fatal blow.

"You… you-" He broke his own stupor, struggling to spit out the painful words on the top of his tongue, and his attention turned to the hunter. "Allen-" 'You killed him, my Allen! You killed him! You bastard!' His mind ranted on in his silences, leaving him wide eyed and unhinged, and Lavi bared his fangs at the hunter viciously. "I'll kill you!" He declared, and Lavi sneered at Kanda as he flexed his clawed fingers menacingly.

Lavi would bleed him almost dry, drive him mad with pain until nothing of Allen was even left in this mortal vermin.

He would- no.

No, he knew exactly what he would do.


	11. The Promise

Lavi could envision it, rolling his shoulders as he forced them to relax in the wake of his own strike. His mind was racing, miles elsewhere on Allen and his departure from this world, and the audacity with which the hunter loomed over Allen's corpse stoked the hateful fire burning in his belly. Lavi was snarling and snapping at him furiously, daring him to come closer or move even one inch, and the looping angry thoughts only seemed to grow louder.

Allen is gone, and it's his fault. He took him from me, and I'll take everything from him. He won't survive. I'll make him pay.

He couldn't help it, his own anger building as the tension in the room grew, and Lavi was ready to rip the human man limb from limb. A quick death was better than he deserved, and Lavi couldn't contain himself any longer.

Lunging forward, seeing red as he attacked the hunter, Lavi gladly took the initiative and he took savage joy as the other man missed by a hair. Sidestepping him, Lavi took full advantage of his lapse and drove one hand forward forcefully, lips curling into a maniacal grin as he forced himself into the human's space and body. The buckling of his ribcage drew a victorious snarl from the vampire, his hand not stopping, and his clawed fingers dove deeper in search of their prize. Dismissing bones like dry twigs, Lavi grasped the muscle and relished in the feeling of the mortal's heartbeat before he jerked his hand back to steal it from him. Kanda's pulse was pounding against the pads of his fingers, beating at the meat of his palm as if the heart could fight it's way free, and Lavi sneered as he ripped his hand out of his victim's chest, the organ in tow.

Claws embedded in the glistening flesh, Lavi let his mortal rival fall back bonelessly as he held the organ up to the light. So this is what Allen has been so infatuated with? This pound of flesh- this fragile mortal zeal?

With a glance down at the human floundering against the wood, his green eye sliding to the side to watch Kanda struggle, Lavi caught his bleary state and his lips peeled back from his fangs again as he sunk them into the flesh disdainfully. It was nothing but a mockery of his suffering, chewing that mouthful of clammy flesh like he did, and Lavi scoffed when he swallowed and dropped the rest to the floor.

"Y'know," He sneered, running his tongue around his teeth and smacking his lips in disgust. "If this is all you had to offer him, he's better off without you. Now he'll never know how disgusting you are inside." His voice was tight, anger simmering below the surface as he tried to regain control, and Lavi squatted to Kanda's level with cold, dead eyes to watch him die.

Lavi watched the human choke on his own blood, tear trails joined by the red fluid, and the vampire sneered down at him. Even anger didn't reach that eye anymore, Lavi's attention elsewhere, but rage filled him anew as Kanda's eyes drifted away, bloody arm reaching upwards into open air.

"Don't you dare!" He snarled, gripping him by the wrist and using that leverage to throw Kanda across the floor, his body ragdolling as his healing factor struggled to keep him conscious. Kanda's lips trembled, fluid filling his mouth instead of words, and Lavi stalked over to grip his uniform in a frenzy, gnashing his teeth.

"You don't get to pass on peacefully, you filth! Look at me!" Lavi's voice boomed in the empty room, shaking the waning man viciously to fight for his victim's attention. "You don't know what suffering is! You think this is the end?! I'll find you and make you pay! I'll find you, wherever you go! Whatever life you're given next! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"


	12. Left to Linger

This world… It has nothing left for me. Allen is gone, and he’ll never return. What I would give to have my love return to this Earth… I would give my very eternity to grant my beloved Allen a chance to be reborn.

Infernal, immortal creatures like us do not serve any deeper purpose. We are here to haunt this world and reap the lives of the living, and we traded our very souls for this power. Even if he wanted to return, as a vampire, there is nothing left of a soul to return with. We are monsters, most monstrous and made wicked by our nightly feasts, and there was never any hope to be reunited after this life.

Allen wandered the lands for someone to damn in kind, to spend their eternity by his side, and he chose me. Me.

Allen made me, reformed my frail mortal body into a predator’s walking corpse, and I dove headlong into this ferocious afterlife to please him. I could meet him, match him in his inhuman nature, and I could make him mine in return. I wanted this, I wanted him, and I revelled in the warmth of his attention.

He was mine, I was his.

Forever.

Forever means nothing anymore.

All forever has in store for me is him, and the endless stretch of time...


End file.
